John Thomas Scharf
| birth_place = Baltimore, Maryland | death_date = | death_place = New York City, New York | body_discovered = | death_cause = heart/pneumonia | resting_place = | resting_place_coordinates = | residence = 80 Manhattan Ave. New York | nationality = American | ethnicity = Irish | citizenship = United States | other_names = | known_for = His comprehensive histories continue to be cited as primary source materials by historians and researchers. | education = M.A., LL.D. | alma_mater = Georgetown University | employer = | occupation = United States historian, journalist, antiquarian, politician, lawyer and Confederate States of America soldier and sailor | years_active = | home_town = Baltimore, Maryland | salary = | networth = | height = | weight = | title = | term = | predecessor = | successor = | party = | opponents = | boards = | religion = Roman Catholic | spouse = Mary McDougall (married December 2, 1869) | children = | parents = Thomas G. Scharf and Anna Maria McNulty | relations = | callsign = | awards = | signature = J Thomas Scharf Signature.png | website = | footnotes = | box_width = }} John Thomas Scharf (May 1, 1843 – February 28, 1898) was a United States historian, author, journalist, antiquarian, politician, lawyer and Confederate States of America soldier and sailor. He is best known for his published historical works. Modern historians and researchers today continue to cite his comprehensive histories as primary source materials. Scharf used a formulaic and detailed approach to preparing his historical works. He contacted everyone who could provide information about his subject and used detail questionnaires to capture responses to his inquiries. }} The Maryland Historical Society J. Thomas Scharf Collection, 1730s-1892 is a testament to the massive volume of original source materials he amassed as a result of his writings. Scharf was one of the first American historians who consistently used newspapers as a primary source. Rather than trying to analyze the source material he often includes lengthy quotations from newspapers, magazines, pamphlets, and state and city documents in his works. When writing about the American Civil War, the central event of his generation, he could not remain objective. His strong pro-South perspective and prejudice about the war he fought is clearly articulated. His books are written in the flowery style of his day, and several of his works, although long, are still considered among the best primary sources available. Scharf's History of the Confederate States Navy remains a particularly valuable contribution to the literature of the American Civil War. Scharf enlisted with the 1st Maryland Artillery at the outbreak of the American Civil War. He fought in the Confederate States Army, as well as, the Confederate States Navy. Returning from the war, Scharf assisted with the reorganization of the Maryland state militia. He practiced law and took positions as a city editor for the Baltimore Evening News and managing editor for the Baltimore Sunday Telegram. He accumulated a mass of papers on the city of Baltimore and from these he published his first major work, The Chronicles of BaltimoreChronicles of Baltimore, Col. J Thomas Scharf, 1874, accessed December 2009. In 1878, Scharf, a Democrat from Baltimore City-District 2, was elected and served one term in the Maryland General Assembly, House of Delegates. He served as Commissioner of the Land Office of Maryland from 1884 until 1892 and was an active member of the Maryland Historical Society. In the year before he died he was dismissed from his position as "Special Chinese Inspector" for the Southern District of New York, a post charged with enforcing the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 and the Geary Act of 1892. Biography Life before the Civil War J. Thomas Scharf was born in Baltimore in the U.S. state of Maryland to Thomas George and Anna Maria (born McNulty) Scharf, the second of eleven children.Scharf family history He received elementary education at the local Roman Catholic Parish School of St. Peter the Apostle Church. Scharf attended Calvert Hall private Catholic college preparatory high school for boys. At sixteen years of age he started work in the counting-room of his father, a bookkeeper and lumber company owner. Young Scharf was well versed in the political history of his time. His convictions, as well as his sympathies, induced him to espouse the cause of the American Southern States. This was the Southern States pro-slavery ideology of white supremacy that emerged from an agrarian society that existed with the continuing contradiction between its inhumanity towards African-Americans and its claim to uphold republican values and democratic institutions. At eighteen, he, with a number of other young men in Baltimore, formed a volunteer company called the Scott Guards, of which he was elected Orderly Sergeant. This company was soon disbanded and young Scharf then joined the 19th Ward Volunteers, under Captain William B. Redgraves. The company was organized for the defense of the city, but was also disbanded after doing some service in preserving order. Confederate Army Career At the outset of the American Civil War and without his family's knowledge, Scharf and a friend took passage on the steamer SS Mary Washington for the Patuxent River. They reached and crossed the Potomac River and made their way to Richmond, Virginia. At Richmond, on July 29, 1861 Scharf enlisted in the 1st Maryland Artillery ("Dements Battery") under Capt. R. Snowden Andrews for "three years or the war." His first encampment was "Brook's Station", near Aquia Creek, where the battery remained until sent to join the Confederate States Army batteries overlooking the Potomac in October 1861. Here on the Potomac the battery honed its skills by firing upon and sometimes sinking Unionist ships. secessionists.]] In March 1862, when Brig. Gen. Joseph E. Johnston fell back from Manassas, Virginia, the 1st Maryland Artillery was moved to Fredericksburg and attached to Brig. Gen. J. Johnston Pettigrew's Brigade. The battery proceeded to Yorktown, Virginia and placed under reserve corps of Maj. Gen. Gustavus Woodson Smith in a defensive response to the Unionist Peninsula Campaign. The battery, part of a delaying action against the Union Army advance on Richmond, eventually ending up at "Poor's farm" just prior to the Battle of Seven Pines (May 31 and June 1, 1862). }} , Virginia]] The battery was engaged in the Seven Days Battles from June 25 to July 1, 1862 around Richmond, Virginia. On June 26, 1862 the 1st Maryland Artillery was given credit for firing the first shots at the Battle of Mechanicsville. The battery was engaged heavily and suffered sever loses. The following day the battery was in the thick of fighting again at the Battle of Gaines' Mill firing upon the enemy in support of Lt. Gen. Ambrose P. Hill and Maj. Gen. George Edward Pickett. They then fought at the Battle of Glendale (Frazier's Farm) and the Battle of Malvern Hill. After the siege of Richmond, the battery was ordered to join Lt. Gen. Stonewall Jackson. Attached to Brig. Gen. Alexander Lawton's Georgia Brigade, the 1st Maryland Artillery fought with the Georgians at the Battle of Cedar Mountain on August 9, 1862. It has been written that the 1st Maryland's fire was so accurate that they decimated the Union battery opposite them. Even though it was a decided Confederate victory under General Jackson the battery suffered severely. Following the Battle of Cedar Mountain Lt. Gen. Jackson united his command with Lt. Gen. Jubal Anderson Early at Warrenton Springs. The 1st Maryland Artillery was mistakenly ordered to cross the Rappahannock River along with Lt. Gen. Early's Brigade. During the night heavy rain washed the bridges out and cut them off from Jackson and the main force. During the following day, Early's infantry and the Maryland batteries beat back several attacks by Bvt. Maj. Gen. John Pope, while Jackson built a bridge to provide a means of escape. After Jackson moved around Pope's right to Manassas Junction the 1st Maryland Artillery became heavily engaged in the Second Battle of Bull Run. The battery lost several men and horses and J. Thomas Scharf was slightly wounded in the ankle. Following the battle the 1st Maryland Artillery marched nearly two weeks to Harpers Ferry, West Virginia. At the Battle of Harpers Ferry, Col. Stapleton Crutchfield (Jackson's Chief of Artillery) ordered the battery to cross the Shenandoah River and make their way up the mountain to Loudoun Heights. From this position a fierce artillery barrage rained down on Gen. Dixon S. Miles and his Union troops, forcing Miles to surrender. The 1st Maryland Artillery followed Lt. Gen. Early's Division back to Virginia and in December joined the Army of Northern Virginia at the Battle of Fredericksburg. The battery saw little action itself, but was fired upon hotly and Scharf just escaped being made a prisoner. In May 1863 during the Battle of Chancellorsville Maj. Gen. John Sedgwick's Union infantry attacked Early and the 1st Maryland Artillery was moved into position on Mayre's Heights. Once in place their fire was deadly; however, the shear weight of Sedgwick's force enabled him to capture the heights. The battery pulled back to a concealed position near the Telegraph Road and unleashed a terrible fire upon the advancing Union infantry. This gave Early time to counter-attack and drive Sedgwick's force from the heights. Lt. Gen. Early sent his compliments to every man in the 1st Maryland Artillery for their gallant and noble conduct on the field. The battery sustained heavy damage at Chancellorsville and Scharf was wounded in his right knee. The battery proceeded to "Holliday's Farm" to repair the pieces and rest and J. Thomas Scharf was sent to a Richmond hospital. Hospitalized seven weeks, he considered other ways to serve the South and applied for a commission in the struggling Confederate States Navy. Confederate Navy Career Scharf became a midshipman in the Confederate States Navy on June 20, 1863,. Under the command of First Lieutenant William Harwar Parker, superintendent of the Confederate States Naval Academy, he received his training on board the CSS Patrick Henry in the James River (Virginia). Scharf was sent to the iron-clad CSS Chicora at Charleston, South Carolina, where he participated in picket-boat duty between Fort Sumter and Morris Island during the winter of 1864. The crew's task was to watch in case of attack on Fort Sumter. While engaged in this service, he was selected by his commanding officer, Captain Thomas T. Hunter, to lead fifteen men on an expedition to New Bern, North Carolina. They were accompanied by similar crews from vessels in the harbors of Charleston, Savannah, Wilmington, and Richmond. Lying at anchor off New Bern was the Union steamer USS Underwriter. She was the largest gunboat in Albemarle Sound and credited with firing the first shot at Roanoke Island. The Confederates, led by Commander John Taylor Wood, grandson of President Zachary Taylor and nephew of the Confederate States President Jefferson Davis, surprised the crew of the Underwriter and she was taken in hand-to-hand combat early on the morning of February 2, 1884. Under heavy fire from surrounding Union batteries she was burned to the waters' edge; however, her boilers and engines survived relatively unscathed and were later salvaged. In the spring, Scharf was ordered to the gunboat CSS Chattahoochee at Columbus, Georgia and in May 1864 was involved in another daring mission. The plan was to send a cluster of small boats loaded with soldiers to capture a Union blockade ship, which they would then use to seize the rest of the blockaders on Florida's Gulf Coast. Lieutenant George W. Gift commanded the Confederate force of about 100 men, which include Scharf. Not keeping the matter very secret, Gift sailed south from Columbus on the steamboat Marianna along with his new wife. Near the Georgia-Florida border the Marianna halted briefly to allow Mrs. Gift to disembark. Near the town of Apalachicola, Florida, Gift and his soldiers crowded onto seven small boats and under the cover of night crossed the Apalachicola Bay to St. George Island (Florida). There they waited almost a week for idea conditions to launch their attack. Shrouded in darkness, they planned to sneak up on the USS Adela, and then use it to force the surrender of the USS Somerset. Gift decided to abandon the expedition when scouts returning from Apalachicola brought news that the Union blockaders knew about their plans to attack. Late on the night of May 12, 1864 the seven boats left the island. Gift's boat, with 17 aboard, and another boat carrying 10 men charted a course across the open water. The crossing was rough, and amid wildly tumbling and tossing waves the smaller boat took on water and sank, leaving 10 men desperately holding on to the other boat. Gift became so terribly sick he was unable to function and relinquished command to midshipman J. Thomas Scharf. Scharf later recalled, "The boat was about two miles from shore and all expected every moment would be the last." Scharf ordered the men to toss overboard any extra weight. Soldiers in the boat grabbed the six weakest men hanging onto the sides and pulled them in. Their boat was barely afloat and Scharf feared the remaining soldiers in the water would drown. Scharf decided to risk the extra weight and hoist them inside. When they heard the sound of the waves crashing against the beach of St. Georges Island everyone dove in the water and swam safely ashore. They hid on the island for two days living on oysters, palmetto cabbage and alligator until sympathizers from Apalachicola found them and ferried them across to the town. From there they escaped to safety, away from Union troops. After the failed expedition, Scharf was sent to the recently captured Union gunboat Water Witch, at White Bluff, Georgia and then to the nearby steamer CSS Sampson, at Savannah. Here he remained until the beginning of Sherman's March to the Sea from Atlanta, Georgia. In early December 1864, the CSS Sampson, with Scharf aboard, along with the CSS Macon and CSS Resolute were sent to destroy the Charleston and Savannah Railway bridge spanning the Savannah River. The CSS Sampson continued up the river to Augusta, Georgia prior to the capture of Savannah by Maj. Gen. William Tecumseh Sherman on December 12, 1864. Secret mission to Canada As all the landings were now controlled by Union forces, Scharf decided to resign his naval commission and rejoin the army. The Confederate War Department sent for him and requested he secretly take important dispatches to Canada. His arrangements were made, and the Confederate Secret Service was ordered to put him across the Potomac. His crossing was delayed by floating ice but he reached Maryland safely. The Unionist, receiving notice of his crossing, captured him at Port Tobacco, Maryland. He was imprisoned in Carroll Prison in Washington in February 1865 and released on parole (with a bond of $5,000) on March 25, 1865. President Andrew Johnson pardoned him in September 1865 as he could have been executed as a spy. }} Returning home and the State Militia Returning home, Scharf resumed business with his father. In 1867, he assisted with the reorganization of the Maryland State militia. Scharf organized Company C and was elected their Captain. On the organization of the 2nd Regiment, he was tendered the Colonelcy, but owing to the prejudices that existed against the returned Confederates, he declined the honor, but accepted when elected position of Lieutenant-Colonel. In a short time, he resigned to accept the position of Ordnance Officer with the rank of Captain, on the staff of Brigadier-General Robert H. Carr, of the Second Brigade. On May 5, 1869 Scharf resigned to accept the position of aide-de-camp to Maryland Governor Oden Bowie, the first Governor of Maryland to be elected under the post Civil War Maryland Constitution of 1867. With this position brought the honorary rank of Colonel, a title he delighted in using. On December 2, 1869, Colonel Scharf married Mary McDougall, the eldest daughter of James McDougall, Esq., a wholesale lumber and commission merchant of Baltimore. They had a son and two daughters. Law and Journalism To prepare for the Maryland State bar examination Scharf read law. He joined Samuel Snowden's law offices and was allowed to practice law in Baltimore County in 1874. In 1885 he received the degree of Doctor of law (LL.D.) from Georgetown College. While practicing law Scharf began writing articles for newspapers and magazines on various aspects of Baltimore and Maryland history. In 1876, he accepted the job of city editor of the Baltimore Evening News, later working as managing editor of the Baltimore Sunday Telegram. Quitting his law practice he turned to journalism and historical writing. Literary career Scharf was an active member of the Maryland Historical Society. He accumulated a mass of papers on the city of Baltimore and from these he published his first major work, The Chronicles of Baltimore. Scharf was one of the first American historians who consistently used newspapers as a primary source. He often includes lengthy quotations from newspapers, magazines, pamphlets, and state and city documents in his works. When writing about the American Civil War, the central event of his generation, he could not remain objective. His strong pro-South perspective and prejudice about the war he fought is clearly articulated. His books are written in the flowery style of his day, and several of his works, although long, are still considered among the best primary sources available. Scharf's History of the Confederate States Navy remains a particularly valuable contribution to the literature of the American Civil War. Maryland public service In 1878, J. Thomas Scharf, a Democrat from Baltimore City-District 2, was elected and served one term in the Maryland General Assembly, House of Delegates. From 1884 until 1892 he served as Commissioner of the Land Office of Maryland. In this capacity he had access to thousands of state documents and records, some of which ended up in his private collection. During the 1870s, 1880s, and 1890s Scharf spoke and represented the state of Maryland in a number of public offices, events and celebrations: *'1874' :Centennial anniversary of the burning of the "Peggy Stewart," at Annapolis, on October 19, 1874; chosen by the municipal authorities of Annapolis to be the historiographer of the occasion, and delivered his first address in public, which was very favorably received. *'1875' **By invitation he delivered an eloquent and instructive address for the benefit of the German Orphan Asylum, in March, 1875, choosing as his subject the “Development of the German Element in Baltimore." **Selected by the Professors of Rock Hill College, near Ellicott City, to pronounce the graduating address, on June 24, 1875. **Selected by the St. Vincent De Paul's Beneficial Society to deliver an address upon the services of the Irish people in the American Revolution at a grand Irish-American demonstration at Walker's Pavilion, July 5, 1875, on the Patapsco River. **O'Connell Centennial celebration in Baltimore, at Druid Hill Park, on August 6, 1875; selected as one of the orators of the day. *'1880' **Served one term in the Maryland General Assembly, House of Delegates, 1878-1880. **Member of the executive committee of the sesquicentennial celebration of Baltimore. *'1884' **Served as Commissioner of the Land Office of Maryland, 1884-1892. **Associate U.S. commissioner from Maryland to the World Cotton Centennial. This was the 1884 World's Fair held in New Orleans, Louisiana, when nearly one third of all cotton produced in the United States was handled in New Orleans and the city was home to the Cotton Exchange. *'1886' :Maryland executive committee member to the Philadelphia Centennial Exposition. The Centennial International Exhibition of 1876, the first official World's Fair in the United States, held in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence in Philadelphia. *'1889' :Manager of the Maryland exposition. *'1893' :Manager of the Maryland state exhibit at the World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago. Special Chinese Inspector appointment In 1891 the United States Congress passed the Immigration Act of 1891, the nation's first comprehensive immigration law. This act established an Office of the Superintendent of Immigration under the jurisdiction of the Secretary of Treasury, John G. Carlisle. This office was responsible for admitting, rejecting, and processing all immigrants seeking admission to the United States and for implementing national immigration policy. Legislation in March 1895 would upgrade the Office of Immigration to the Bureau of Immigration and the agency head's title would change from Superintendent to Commissioner-General of Immigration. in New York Harbor]] Prior to 1891, the United States Customs Service, an agency of the United States Treasury Department, took the enforcement lead because of the maritime nature of immigration. In addition to enforcing immigration legislation the Immigration Inspectors stationed at major United States ports of entry, also collected the 50 cents tax placed on each alien entering the country. By 1892, Ellis Island, located in the harbor of New York City, became the nation’s primary immigration station and also became infamous for corruption and brutality scandals. On April 8, 1893, President Grover Cleveland appointed former Chairman of the House Committee on Immigration and Naturalization, Herman Stump, a Maryland Democrat, Superintendent of Immigration. Stump served until July 16, 1897, resigning his appointment together with the transition to the Republican presidential administration of William McKinley. In July 1893, Colonel J. Thomas Scharf was appointed by the Treasury Department to investigate alleged frauds and to regulate and systematize the immigration of Chinese at the Port of New York. As a result of his three weeks' preliminary investigation, Scharf said: "Great frauds have been perpetrated in the admission of Chinese into this Port." Scharf made formal and specific charges to the Secretary of the Treasury, against Special Deputy Collector of Customs Joseph J. Conch (Acting Collector), Deputy Collector Gunner and Chief Clerk Thomas J. Dunn of the Marine Division, which had charge of the Chinese under the provisions of the Geary act. Scharf also charged customs officers, working with certain large Chinese merchants in Mott Street, with smuggling Chinese into the country by means of false impersonation. Scharf said large sums of money were made by this practice and divided among those in the deal. Both the Chinese Bureau within the Customs Service and the Chinese Division of the Bureau of Immigration employed Chinese Inspectors. These inspectors were designated to implement Federal regulations mandated by the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 and the Geary Act of 1892. These laws cut off legal immigration from China and outlawed the granting of citizenship to the Chinese. Immigration decisions made by these Federal officials were generally unchallenged, but appeals to Federal courts did occur. In November 1893, Judge Lacombe of the United States Circuit Court decided in favor of ten Chinese Scharf had endeavored to have deported. Scharf asserted they were laborers not entitled to entry even though they had the proper passport certificates and papers in their possession. Scharf tackled his duties as Special Chinese Inspector with enthusiasm and rigor and would question every contention. }} In interviews with the New York Times, Scharf stated the Chinese Exclusion Act was a farce causing the corruption of the Treasury Department. He said fraud existed and had good reason to believe that men in the employment and confidence of the Government were making $15,000 a year each from the illegal importation of Chinese. He did not get along pleasantly with the Custom House staff, which was under the authority of the Collector of the Port of New York. They often charged each other with interference, and often carried their disputes to the Collector, who usually upheld his own officers. Since Scharf could not get along with the regular force, the Collector believed the customs service would be improved by his removal, or transfer to another post. On October 1, 1897, Scharf was told that his services were no longer required as Chinese Inspector after October 15. On October 6 Scharf wrote to Secretary of the Treasury, Lyman J. Gage. He pointed out that he knew another man had been appointed to take his place and said public officials were influenced by corrupt motives. He said he had returned more illegal immigrants then the other inspectors put together and suspected it was the Canadian Pacific Railway who had planned his downfall. Scharf caused the substance of his letter to be released to the press and the Secretary withdrew an offer to allow him to resign before being dismissed at once. "Mr. Scharf was fertile in suspicion, but not very fruitful in evidence." said Secretary Gage. Epilogue Colonel John Thomas Scharf, the author, politician and Confederate veteran, after being ill for three days, died of paralysis of the heart and pneumonia on February 28, 1898, at his home, 80 Manhattan Avenue, New York City, New York . He had entered the practice of law in New York after his tenure as Special Chinese Inspector for the Southern District of New York, at the Port of New York, ended on October 15, 1897. In addition to the Maryland Historical Society, he was also President of the Bureau of American History, Genealogy and Heraldry; a member of the Pennsylvania Historical Society, the Southern Historical Society; an honorary member of the Georgia Historical Society and a corresponding member of the historical societies of New York, Wisconsin, Minnesota, South Carolina, Virginia, and of the Historical and Philosophical Society of Ohio, of the New England Historic-Genealogical Society. Published works | year = 1874 }} REPUBLISHED: (Kennikat Press. 1972. . ISBN 978-0804686075). (Heritage Books. 1989. ISBN 978-1556132421). |row2=1877 | year = 1877 }} . |row3=1879 | accessdate = | year = 1879 }} REPUBLISHED: (Tradition Press. 1967. ). |row4=1880 | accessdate = | year = 1880 }} |row5=1881 | year = 1881 }} REPUBLISHED: (Regional Pub. Co. 1971. . ISBN 0806379847). |row6=1882 | year = 1882 }} REPUBLISHED: (Regional Pub. Co. 1968. . ISBN 978-0806379654). (Heritage Books Inc. 2002. CD-ROM. ISBN 9780788421556). (Genealogical Pub Co. 2008. ISBN 978-0806380506). |row7=1883 | year = 1883 }} |row8=1883 | year = 1883 }} |row9=1884 | year = 1884 }} |row10=1884 | year = 1884 }} |row11=1884 | year = 1884 }} |row12=1886 | year = 1886 }} |row13=1887 | year = 1887 }} REPUBLISHED: (BiblioLife. 2009. ISBN 978-1113322012). |row14=1887 | year = 1887 }} REPUBLISHED: (Books for Libraries Press. 1969. ). (Fairfax Press. 1977. ). (Gramercy. 1996. ISBN 978-0517183366). |row15=1888 | year = 1888 }} REPUBLISHED: (Kennikat Press. 1972. ISBN 978-0804686150). (Historical Society of Delaware. 1976. ). |row16=1888 | year = 1888 }} |row17=1890 | year = 1890 }} |row18=1891 | accessdate = | year = 1891 }} |row19=1892 | year = 1892 }} |row20=1892 | year = 1892 }} }} Personal Collections J. Thomas Scharf Collection, 1730s-1892 The Maryland Historical Society, H. Furlong Baldwin Library preserves the J. Thomas Scharf Collection, 1730s-1892. The collection was estimated in 1972 to number about 50,000 manuscripts. Scharf and Thompson Westcott collected the contents of this collection during the late 19th century. Roughly 80% of the total collection is Maryland state documents. The manuscripts of the collection can be divided into four categories: #'Personal papers of J. Thomas Scharf' - His personal papers consist of incoming letters (1866–1892), his research notes, and drafts of his various histories of Maryland. An especially large part of his personal papers is biographical research on Marylanders. #'Personal papers of Thompson Westcott' - A smaller portion of the collection is that of Thompson Westcott (1820–1888) of Philadelphia. Westcott and Scharf collaborated on a history of Philadelphia, and on Westcott's death Scharf purchased some of Westcott's papers, largely his correspondence, notes, and the Philadelphia documents Westcott collected. #'Maryland and Pennsylvania state documents' #*'Maryland documents' - The Maryland state documents Scharf collected are the largest part of the total collection. Many were acquired during his tenure as Commissioner of the Land Office of Maryland from 1884 until 1892. These state documents were separated from the collection in July 1975 and sent to the Maryland Hall of Records to be indexed and microfilmed. #*'Pennsylvania documents' - The Pennsylvania state documents were presumably collected by Thompson Westcott, and acquired by Scharf through a purchase of Westcott's papers. This group of documents is almost entirely Philadelphia court records; especially prominent are petitions for tavern licenses. #'Confederate States of America naval documents and other original manuscripts' #*'Confederate States of America naval documents' - Scharf collected about 1,500 official documents that pertain to the Confederate States Navy. These documents (1863–1864) are largely financial and originated in Shreveport, Louisiana. Presumably he acquired these while writing his history of the Confederate States Navy. #*'Other original manuscripts' - These documents are largely non-official papers. The items do not have any unifying subject and it is assumed these were collected by Scharf or Westcott John Thomas Scharf papers The Johns Hopkins University, Milton S. Eisenhower Library, preserves the John Thomas Scharf papers . The collection consists of his manuscript notes and those of other historians relating to various aspects of American history. Subjects include events from the Revolutionary period, settlement of Native Americans in Florida, and early histories of cities in New York and Pennsylvania. The collection consists of original documents and manuscript notes of historian and author, John Thomas Scharf, and those of other historians including Henry B. Dawson and Thompson Westcott. The material relates to various aspects of American history in the 18th and 19th centuries. Subjects include events from the period of the American Revolution, settlement of Native Americans in Florida, and early histories of cities in New York and Pennsylvania. References Further reading *'References used by' – }} **Richard J. Cox, A Century of Frustration: The Movement for a State Archives in Maryland, 1811-1935, Maryland Historical Magazine, 78 (Summer 1983): 106-117. **Francis B. Culver, The War Romance of John Thomas Scharf, Maryland Historical Magazine, 21 (September 1926): 295-302. **Edward G. Howard, Introduction to History of Baltimore City and County, by J. Thomas Scharf (Baltimore: Regional Publishing, 1971). **Morris L. Radoff, An Elusive Manuscript—The Proceedings of the Maryland Convention of 1774, American Archivist, 30 (January 1967): 59-65. **Radoff, Foreword to The History of Maryland, by J. Thomas Scharf (Hatboro, Pa.: Tradition Press, 1967). **Frank F. White, Jr., ed., Correspondence of Jefferson Davis and J. Thomas Scharf, Journal of Mississippi History, 10 (April 1948): 118-131. * Tom Kelley, The personal memoirs of Jonathan Thomas Scharf of the First Maryland Artillery, Baltimore: Butternut and Blue, (1992). . ISBN 0935523308. * | year = 1910 }} *Maryland Historical Society, Proceedings of the Maryland historical society, in connection with the celebration of the one hundred and fiftieth anniversary of the settlement of Baltimore, Baltimore:J. Murphy & Co, (1880). . * Catalogue of aportion of the library of J. Thomas Scharf, Boston, Mass: C.F. Libbie & Co, (1883). . External links * J. Thomas Scharf works available in digital form through The Internet Archive, a non-profit digital library of Internet sites and cultural artifacts. * J. Thomas Scharf Collection, 1730s-1892, preserved by the Maryland Historical Society, H. Furlong Baldwin Library *Maryland State Archives, a Maryland historical agency and central depository for government records of permanent value. *History of 1st Maryland Artillery, CSA, available through Maryland Units in the Civil War, a website devoted to said topic. * Category:People from Baltimore, Maryland Category:People of Maryland in the American Civil War Category:1843 births Category:1898 deaths Category:American Roman Catholic politicians Category:American sailors Category:American journalists Category:American historians Category:Confederate States Army soldiers Category:Deaths from pneumonia Category:History of Baltimore, Maryland Category:Maryland Democrats Category:Members of the Maryland House of Delegates